Service cats

It turns out that not only dogs can be official. Cats, whom everyone is accustomed to perceive either as idlers and sybarites, or as brave rat catchers, can also perform quite difficult work and occupy responsible positions. Here are some of these "business" cats.

The workers of one of the English toy warehouses Bandai decided not just to shelter a stray Bengal cat, but to provide her with a real job. Now Millie has the official status of a security guard and receives a fee for her services in the form of food and a bed. Millie takes her official duties very seriously and devotes all her free time from eating and sleeping to work.

Ketzel's compositional talent is recognized not only by his adoring master, pianist Morris Moshe Kotel, who is also the co—author of the amazing cat. Morris recorded a particularly successful melody from his point of view, which the cat played while walking on the piano keyboard, and presented it to Paris Music Competition. As a result, the prize went to Ketzel. The contest was absolutely fair, because the judges found out that the author of the melody was a cat, only after they awarded the victory.

In 2003, the Stavropol police hired a cat named Rusik, who had an amazing ability to sniff out and point out poachers engaged in illegal sturgeon fishing. Rusik pushed the smugglers so hard that they eventually ambushed her and knocked her to death with a car.

This unusual librarian's assistant receives a payment in the form of 30 packages of cat food per month for his services.

For the first time this feline position appeared in the 70s of the century before last, when about 40 cats were specially trained in the Belgian village of Liege, teaching them to deliver mail to their homes. The Belgian Society for the Elevation of the Domestic Cat was engaged in this. There were even jokes in the newspapers about a "criminal class of dogs" that could prevent cats from displacing human postmen. In the end, both the "criminal dogs" and the independent nature of the cats themselves allowed this idea to spread not only around the world, but even throughout a small Belgium.

The colorful bald sphinx, remembered by viewers from films about the adventures of Austin Powers, is also called Mr. Bigglesworth in real life. The cat shoots a lot and feels great in the status of a movie star.

Felicette is the first French cosmonaut cat. On October 18, 1963, she made a space trip on a Veronique AG1 rocket. The flight took place at an altitude of 97 miles, and the return to Earth was successful. In preparation for the flight, Felicette defeated 14 other tailed competitors and received an honorary position.

Oscar works in one of the American nursing homes. He unmistakably determines that a person has a few hours left to live, and sits on his lap, as if wanting to say goodbye. The predictions of the cat are so accurate that when they see Oscar at the patient's bedside, the staff immediately sends a message to the relatives.

In the 60s of the last century, the CIA really had a spy cat. The cat had to undergo a complicated operation to implant a microphone of a listening device into the external auditory canal. The preparation of the cat cost taxpayers $ 20 million, and several years were spent on training and medical manipulations. When, finally, everything was ready, the spy cat, which was supposed to provide an opportunity to freely eavesdrop on important conversations, was released from a CIA intelligence vehicle disguised as a regular van. The cat began to run across the road to get to the place of his assignment, but before he could take even a few steps, he was hit to death by an ordinary taxi driver's car.

Stubbs very successfully served as the mayor of Talkeetna in Alaska for 16 years. His reign was full of dramatic moments and even assassinations. Once a cat was fired from an air gun by disorderly teenagers, and in August 2013 a dog inflicted serious injuries on him. But all these dangers did not force the cat to ask for his resignation, and he continues to hold a responsible post.

In 2012, Stubbs' example inspired a Maine Coon cat named Hank to run for Virginia Senate. During the election campaign, Hank scored 7,000 votes and pretty much ruffled the nerves of other, two-legged, contenders.

Larry's position cannot be called unusual, actually. He, as befits a cat, catches mice. There are more than 100,000 mousetrap cats in the service of the British government. But Larry is the most important. He lives in the Prime Minister's residence on  10 Downing Street. It cannot be said that Lari's career is developing flawlessly. He was criticized for his habit of sleeping in the workplace. He was caught in the lenses of paparazzi during his love affairs. He was even fired for being able to submit only one mouse as a report on the work done.

When Tam was appointed caretaker of the railway station in Wakayama (Japan), the number of passengers suddenly began to increase annually by as much as 10%. The increase amounts to almost 2.1 million passengers per year, which brings the treasury an additional 1.1 billion yen (approximately $ 11 million). The railroad did not pry her professional secrets from Tam, but simply promoted her, making her the first cat in the world — the official head of the railway. Tam even has two assistants who are also cats.